Olympus E-P1 vs. Canon Rebel XS

Hello! I'm a total newbie to photography but have always been interested. I purchased a Canon Rebel XS back in October and have loved the photos that come out of it, but I also don't have totally high expectations coming from a point and shoot... they look incredible to me. I really don't have any complaints about the XS except it's size. While it's not huge by any means, and it's not terribly difficult to tote around... I find myself not wanting to carry it around. I run a charity foundation so for events and such, I'd love to take more photos but it's not always convenient. Most of my pictures are of dogs and kids, lol. I love taking action shots (attached a few of my dog, Jackson). I also really miss having video and camera all in one.

So, basically, do you think the Ep1 would be a total downgrade from the XS or not? I never take the XS off of Auto or Sports mode and have not taken the time to learn all it can actually do. I still use the kit lens and have been pretty happy with it. When taking the action shots of my dog for example, I put it on sports mode and snap snap snap snap like 5 pics in a row and pick out the best ones that came out of it. Would the E-P1 be capable of this? Is there a certain lens you could recommend to use for this camera for action? Do you think I could get equally good pics as below?

Re: Olympus E-P1 vs. Canon Rebel XS

I don't think the E-P1 will be much of an improvement.
Yes it will shoot off bursts of photos, but I think the auto-focus will be slow for spontaneous action, I haven't had success with mine even with the firmware updates.
Panasonic lenses help a little, the 14-140 is a very nice lens, but while it focuses quicker that makes the whole combination almost as cumbersome as a small dSLR to carry about.

Re: Olympus E-P1 vs. Canon Rebel XS

I think you should be looking more at the EP2. I think the focusing will be better on it. As far as IQ for what you want in a camera the EP camera should do you a good job. I have not used a m4/3rds camera yet but the EP1 is basically the same size as my Leica and for carrying around all of the time it is a perfect size.

I am like Barney Fife, I have a gun but Andy makes me keep the bullet in my pocket..